US3360818A - Teapot spout cleaner - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 2, 1968 E. G. EDWARDS TEAPOT SPOUT CLEANER Filed March L, 1966 E lizabe fh 6. Edwards INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,360,818 TEAPOT SPOUT CLEANER Elizabeth G. Edwards, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. (1408 E. Douglas Ave, Nashville, Tenn. 37206) Filed Mar. 4, 1966, Ser. No. 531,923 8 Claims. (Cl. -10416) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The above cleaner is unique in that it can be used to effectually swab and clean the interior surfaces of a teapot spout as well as the orifices of the flow retarding strainer at the inlet end of the spout. The wiper sleeve is closed at the leading end and open at its trailing end. A suitably bendable noncorrodible stiffener wire is fitted telescopingly in the sleeve with its forward end in thrust engagement with the closed end of the sleeve. The rearward end has a finger-grip and an anchoring hook for attachment and retention of the trailing end of the sleeve.

This invention relates to a manually manipulatable household implement which is expressly designed and uniquely adapted to effectively and satisfactorily brush and clean the interior pouring surfaces of a teapot spout and, equally important, the orifices of the built-in flow check strainer located at the intake end of the spout.

Persons conversant with the art to which the invention relates are aware that many and various special purpose brushing and scrubbing implements have been devised to cope with tedious and difiicult-of-access cleaning needs. Apparently, however, no special purpose hand implement has been heretofore perfected to solve the problem of cleansing the spout and companion strainer of the conventional teapot. Accordingly, it is the objective of the present invention to provide a simple, practical and commerciable implement which can be readily and reliably used to properly handle the desired spout cleaning task.

To the ends desired the implement herein disclosed is structurally and functionally adequate and is characterized by two component parts mated and orientated for efficient coordinating usage.

Briefly, the improved implement comprises an elongated slender fibrous sleeve-like flexible Wiper having the capability of brushing and cleaning the vulnerable pouring surfaces of the spout and also the orifices of the complemental built-in strainer located at the junctional intake end of said spout, said Wiper being of a length greater than the length of the spout and of a cross-sectional dimension to probe into the strainers orifices, and insertable and removable wiper distending, shape imparting, and shape-sustaining stiffener means fitted telescopingly and functionally into said wiper, said stiffener means being conformingly bendable to coincide with the contour of said spout but amply rigid to withstand and properly respond to end thrust pressure without buckling during the push-pull probing, handling and cleaning steps resorted to by the user.

More specifically, the wiper comprises a sleeve which is closed at its leading end and wholly open at its outward or trailing end. It is preferably, though not necessarily, made of coarse washable pliant nylon or the like which is amply strong and durable to achieve good brushing, scraping and cleansing results. This sleeve functions to accommodate an insertable and removable tautening and shape-imparting stiffener, more particularly, a single length of non-corrodible Wire. This end thrust wire is suitably responsively bendable and comfortable to carry out the task at hand and has its leading end abutting the closed end of the wiper, the trailing end projecting through and beyond the open end of said wiper and provided with 3,360,818 Patented Jan. 2, 1968 a fingergripping ring and also with an outstanding anchoring hook for attachment thereto of the open end portion of said wiper.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which;

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective showing the intake end of the spout broken away and appearing in section to expose the built-in perforated strainer and wherein the improved insertable and removable spout cleaning implement is shown in place and in use;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view on an enlarged scale of the implement by itself ready for use;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged view in section and elevation emphasizing the manner in which the lip at the open end of the wiper is detachably connectible with the anchoring hook; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cross-section on the line 44 of FIGURE 2.

With reference to FIG. 1, it will be evident that the teapot is conventional and is denoted by the numeral 6 and comprises the usual leg supported bulbous body 8 provided on one side with a handle 10, provided on the opposite side with an outstanding pouring spout 12 and having an attachable and detachable lid or cover 14. The usual disk-like built-in or integral flow-restraining strainer is denoted at 16 and is provided with the customary ports or orifices 18. The strainer 16 is accordingly located in alignment with the attached or integral end 20 of the spout. The distal or outer end of the spout is denoted at 22. The improved readily insertable and removable brushing, scrubbing and cleaning implement is made up of two companion components or parts; namely an elongated sleeve-like wiper 24 and an insertable and removable shape-imparting and tautening stiffener 26. The sleeve 24 is of elongated tubular form and customarily is circular in cross-section as shown in FIG. 4. This part may be made of any appropriate fibrous material which lends itself practical for the intended purposes. While various types of cloth and fabric have been experimented with, it has been found that coarse pliant nylon net well serves the friction-scrubbing and cleaning purposes desired. It will be noted that the leading or inward end of the sleeve is tapered and closed to provide a piloting tip 28. The trailing or outer end of the sleeve is open as denoted at 30 and may be obliquely cut across at the approximate angle suggested in FIG. 3.

The stiffening member or stiffener which tautens the sleeve comprises a single length of appropriately bendable, non-corrodible wire 32. The length of the wire is greater than the length of the receptacle portion of the sleeve and the trailing end portion projects through and beyond the open end 30 of the sleeve. The leading end portion of the wire is such that it is seated and pocketed in the pointed piloting tip 28 in the manner suggested in FIG. 2. The trailing or outer end portion of the wire is bent upon itself and fashioned into a ring-like fingergrip 34 which may be conveniently and acceptably used in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1. The free end portion of the wire is bent upon itself and fashioned into coils 36 which encircle the adjacent shank portion of the wire 32. The terminal end portion is directed radially and bent as at 38 and again bent into general parallelism with the coil at 40 to provide an anchoring hook to which the lip 31 is detachably connectible. FIG. 3 serves to show the construction and arrangement of the anchoring hook and (also in full and dotted lines) the manner in which the sleeve is attached and detached.

In practice it will be evident that the shank of the wire is fitted telescopingly into the sleeve and is therefore fully covered by the sleeve. This portion of the wire though stiff is nevertheless bendable to permit the desired end thrust action to be attained while at the same time permitting the shank to conform to the curvature of the spout. With the two parts 24 and 26 assembled, it will be seen that the implement is passed downwardly through the spout and is first manipulated so as to brush and clean interior surfaces of the spout. The tip or end portion can be pushed into any selected one of the orifices 18 to brush and clean the outwardly facing side of the strainer 16. For further cleaning results, the lid or cover 14 i removed and the implement is then inserted (not shown) into the hollow portion of the pot and the tip 28 in lined up with orifices 18 and is pushed and pulled or otherwise manipulated to effectively clean all of the orifices. It follows that with this simple, practical and economical implement the user is able to satisfactorily brush and clean the liquid contacting surfaces of the spout and strainer singly and collectively.

In actual practice the manufacturer will no doubt supply a plurality of attachable and detachable cleaning sleeves which can be made of varying washable materials to enable the user to experiment with and achieve the best end results possible.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A manually manipulatable household implement of the class described comprising, in combination, an elongated slender fibrous sleeve-like flexible wiper having the capability of brushing and cleaning the vulnerable pouring surfaces of a teapot and orifices of the complemental built-in strainer located at the junctional intake end of said spout, said wiper being of a length greater than the length of the spout and of a cross-sectional dimension to probe into the strainers orifices, and insertable and removable wiper distending, shape imparting, and shape sustaining stiffener means fitted telescopingly and functionally into said wiper, said stiffener means being conformingly bendable to coincide with the contour of said spout but amply rigid to withstand and properly respond to end thrust pressure without buckling during the push-pull probing, handling and cleaning steps resorted to by the user, said wiper being closed at its leading end and open at its trailing end, said leading end being intact, rupture resisting and capable of withstanding the end thrust pressure of said stiffener means and being reduced in crosssection to provide a pointed piloting tip adapted to readily selectively align itself with any one of the aforementioned orifices for effective probing and cleaning action.

2. The implement defined in and according to claim 1, and wherein said wiper is made of fairly coarse but pliant nylon net having abrasive properties capable of scraping and scrubbing hard-to-remove residual deposits and stains.

3. The implement defined in and according to claim 1, and wherein said stiffener means comprises a core-like non-corrodible wire of a length greater than the length of said wiper, the leading end of said wire being removably seated and pocketed in said pointed tip, the trailing end extending beyond the open trailing end of the wiper and terminating in an accessible easy-to-use fingergrip.

4. The implement set forth and according to claim 3, and wherein the terminal trailing end portion of said wire is provided with means for detachably connecting the adjacent open-ended portion of the wiper thereto in a manner to retain the wiper in a tautened functioning condition.

5. The implement defined in and according to claim 4, and wherein said means comprises a lateral outstanding hook having a bill portion over which an end of said open-ended portion is retentively but releasably hooked.

6. A teapot spout cleaning implement comprising a length of bendable wire constituting and providing a corelike probing member and having leading and trailing ends, said trailing end being bent upon itself and fashioned into a ring-like fingergrip, a free end portion of the wire being coiled around the wire proper and formed into a radial attaching and retaining hook, and a fibrous cover sleeved lengthwise over said member and having a terminal trailing end detachably connected with said hook.

'7. The implement according to claim 6, and wherein said cover comprises a tough nylon net sleeve encasing said probing member, said sleeve being closed at its leading end and open at its trailing end.

8. A manually manipulatable household implement of the class described comprising, in combination, an elongated slender sleeve-like flexible wiper closed at its leading end and open at its trailing end and made of coarse but pliant nylon net, and an insertable and removable wiper tautening and shape-sustaining core-like stiffener wire extending telescopingly into said wiper, said wire being bendable and conformable to the task at hand and having its leading end abutting the closed end of the wiper, the trailing end projecting through and beyond the open end of said wiper and provided with a fingergripping ring and also with an outstanding anchoring hook for attachment thereto of the open end portion of said wiper.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,062,065 11/1936 Miley 15 21o CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

E. L. ROBERTS, Examiner.

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